Friendship

I'd like to raise my glass today
To all the friends I've led astray
To dancing 'til the break of day
I raise my glass to you

I humbly beg a chance to say
That through it all, yes every day
I knew my friends were here to stay
The brave, the proud, the few

And through the years I've had the chance
To add a few, and thus enhance
This crazy life, which, at a glance
Seems rudderless, it's true

But, I can tell you, friends of mine
That through it all, and through all time
I know my life's been made sublime
By every one of you

j e billheimer

Flawed

How I loathe the break of day
Where all my failings come to light
No longer safe from prying eyes
Well hidden in the night
Oh, please, hold back the light

How I dread the morning sun
Who's cheerful light shows all my flaws
Where careless words and thoughtless deeds
Show glaringly for all to see
The helpless mess that's really me

I know that I can't find a way
To hold at bay the coming dawn
Yet, how to greet the coming light
Ashamed, destroyed, I can't move on
Reveal my flaws, oh heartless dawn

j e billheimer

Serendipity

Please let me try to explain
the situation
It's really almost comical
you see
For though the tears I'm crying
are a heartbreak
It's poetic that it's happening
to me

I really can't complain
about the cause
I truly understand it,
have no doubt
I'm sure somehow we'll get through
all this heartache we are feeling
And wonder what the tears
were all about

But not today
and maybe not tomorrow

j e billheimer

Create

Art makes our hearts sing
Hopes soar
Souls take wing

Poetry lets our hearts speak
Souls listen
Lives less bleak

Music melts our hearts pain
Lifts burdens
Frees us again

Art is inspiration
Poetry gives it voice
Music is love

j e billheimer

These Tears

These tears are almost more
than I can bear
They sting and burn and choke me
from within
I scarcely can remember how
to breathe
I feel a stranger lost in
my own skin

The tears they burn like acid
on my cheek
Despair so overwhelming
I am blind
How can I put one foot before
the other
When blinded by the pain in my
own mind

I want to curl myself around
this pain
Whether hoping to alleviate
or spare
I breathe around this lump
my hearts become
Shards of shattered hopes
pierce everywhere

j e billheimer

Don't leave me

How ever will I manage without you
The implications threaten all my dreams
I can't imagine life without your
possibilities
My future is unraveling at the seams

You cannot know the measure of your life
Without an indicator to compare
You were my indicator, my compass
my own truth
Without you I am left with my despair

Don't leave me please
Don't go
I can't explain
The sense of helplessness your leaving brings
All conscious thoughts are melting into
puddles at my feet
I'm lost without the compass your truth brings

Please hold me to a truth
that's yours alone
I willingly surrender, no regrets
I shan't complain, I promise
I happily concede
Just love me, as I've loved you
since we met

j e billheimer

Third Child

You are unlike any other
Born as old as Timbuktu
Razor sharp, this little brother
There is no one quite like you

Brazen, fearless, bold and daring
Stubborn when you want your way
Quick to offer hugs and kisses
Sunshine smile that lights my day

You, dear boy, are an enigma
Still don't feel I have your measure
I know we're in for more surprises
Pirate smile hides buried treasure

j e billheimer